Page 94 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

And he was duty-bound to kill her.

She was the Bride, after all. The last of the Emperor’s heirs. And the single most important purpose of his very existence was to make sure that Adric couldn’t wed and bed the Bride.

The job had never been easy.

With Cora, it was flat-out torture, and it had been from the first moment he’d seen her. She’d been eight—not yet called, not even experiencing the nightmares—not even really on his radar. Instead, he’d been focused on Cassie, who would surely be the next focus of Adric’s attention. At the time, Adric had been occupied with his Bride-to-be, Cassie’s distant cousin, who had gone willingly to the castle several months prior, her naïve eyes sparkling from all the Nightmare King had promised her.

But though she had agreed to be married, they were not yet formally betrothed because Chase’s assets within the castle had convinced her to stall in order to give her time to plan a betrothal ceremony and wedding that would light up the universe.

And because his brother was as vain as he was vile, Chase had been certain Adric would agree, thus buying time for Chase to reconnoiter. To fell the rest of the Imperial line and prevent Adric from ever using the prophecy to fell the barriers.

It had worked, and Fate had turned its eye to Cassie and Cora. Mother and daughter. And all that was left of the bridal lineage.

“The child is even lovelier than the mother,” Adric had once said in a whisper at Chase’s ear. It was one of the few times Chase had spent time at the castle with his brother, but it had been prudent to learn the king’s thoughts.

“She intrigues you, brother.”

Chase had said nothing. What was there to say? Adric was right. Something about Cora had caught his attention. She’d been only eight, attending her grandmother’s funeral. She didn’t whine or fidget. She’d stood straight, tears marring her lovely face.

Once, she reached for her mother’s hand, but Cassie had stepped away, turning to speak to someone else. Chase had expected the child’s sobs to burst out then. But she only lifted her chin. And when the first shovel of dirt went onto the casket, she stepped to the grave and tossed in a white rose, a tribute to her grandmother. And to the life that Chase had taken from her.

He’d never hated his job before. It was duty, and it was important. The Imperial line was tied to the existence of the universe itself. Guilt had no place.

But guilt cut through him that day, anyway. And pride. Not in himself, but in that young girl who hadn’t buckled under tragedy. Who’d stood alone despite her mother beside her.

Who survived.

She was strong. Exceptional. And though he knew he should take her and her mother out and end the line right then, he couldn’t do it.

Instead, he watched. Instead, he saw her grow from a child to a woman. He saw her strength. Her refusal to let anything knock her down. Even the death of her mother years later didn’t shatter her. She’d grieved. She’d cried. And then she’d moved on.

As for him? That was the first time he’d truly regretted having to take the life of a Bride. Before, it was onlny duty. Sad, but necessary. And only a blip in the fabric of time.

But he’d watched as Cassie slid into dreams to meet Adric. As he told her about the realms and the power of the Bride. He’d seen the gleam in her eye when she looked at the Nightmare King. And he knew that she would eagerly wed and bed him.

And even though he knew what losing her mother would do to Cora, he’d had no choice. They were the last. For almost as long as time itself existed, he had been ensuring the barriers held. Not even for Cora could he risk letting her mother live.

And so he did his duty.

Cassie had seen him coming, and he’d seen something that looked like resignation in her eyes. She’d been wearing that lapis lazuli ring—the one he’d watched her make with Cora. And in the moment before his knife took her life, she clasped her other hand over the ring, then lifted her eyes to his. “Take my daughter fast and be merciful. She is the last, and it will be over, and she will be with me. Take her fast,” she repeated. “And rid yourself of this burden.”

Afterward, her words haunted him. She was right, of course. Once Cora was no longer in the world, the risk of the barriers falling—the risk of existence being flung into chaos—disappeared. Oh, the barriers could still fall, but it wouldn’t happen in a heartbeat. There would be time to prepare. To repair.

And yet he couldn’t do it.

Instead, he watched the girl. Saw her strength in grief. The way she fought every day to keep going. She was a woman who knew her own mind, her own heart. Even when her uncle shipped her off to boarding school, it didn’t knock her sideways. And though he would not have faulted her for abandoning her only living relative, she didn’t. He could see the lingering fury, but there was love there too. The girl had such a capacity for love.

More than that, she was brave. A warrior. And with a love of life that fueled her ability to fight. Because fight she did—he’d watched her for so long now in the Nightmare Realm. Terrified, but not surrendering to the fear. Owning it. Stepping into it. And winning against some seriously nasty odds.

Somewhere over the years, she’d wormed her way into his heart. Instead of hunting her or simply watching her, he decided to help her. To make sure his brother never made Cora his Bride.

He couldn’t let her be the reason the barriers failed, and the consummation of Adric’s marriage would wreak that horror.

That would break her—he’d come to know her well enough to know that being the cause of hell on earth would rip her to shreds.

But more than that, Chase worked to keep her away from Adric because Cora didn’t belong to the Nightmare King. Not now. Not ever.

She belonged to Chase.